Stephen Curry dribbles up the court and pulls up for a 3-pointer from over 5 feet behind the right side of the 3-point line. But wait, the defender, the Timberwolves’ Andre Miller, slaps the ball out of his hands while he is shooting. No worries, Curry just grabs the ball while in midair and makes the shot anyway.
Not that anyone is surprised.
The 2015 NBA champs seem to have reached an unprecedented level of dominance over the rest of the league this season. Starting with a 12-0 record as of Nov. 18, the Warriors are off to the best start in franchise history and as of mid November were the only undefeated team. Since they have easily beaten every opponent they have faced, an end to this greatness does not seem near. The Warriors will keep going until someone stops them, and it does not seem like anyone can.
The reigning MVP, point guard Stephen Curry, is playing at a never-before-seen level, overpowering defenders with his dribble moves and much improved shooting. Yes, much improved shooting. Just when we thought it was impossible for Curry to become a better shooter, he proved us wrong.
He is averaging over 33 points per game on over 50 percent shooting on field goals and over 45 percent shooting on 3-pointers, compared to 23.8 points per game on 48.7 percent on field goals and 44.3 percent on 3-pointers last season.
Usually, a team features an undeniable star like LeBron James, and he tends to carry the team and pick up the slack for other teammates. Not so with Golden State. Every single player contributes when he steps on the court. With arguably the most talented starting five in the league, the Warriors also have a productive and efficient bench.
Rounding out the starting five is shooting guard Klay Thompson, small forward Draymond Green, power forward Harrison Barnes and center Andrew Bogut. Each player is contributing more than his share. Even Thompson, who did not have a strong start to the season, is starting to look like his former self again, knocking down jumper after jumper as the games go on.
The team is filled with many stars: Thompson has been finding his shooting stroke again, Green and Barnes have been attacking the basket on offense and providing lock-down defense and Bogut has been protecting the rim and cleaning up the boards.
The Dubs combine their elite defense and unbelievable offense to achieve a league best +17.6 scoring margin, which would be the all-time NBA record if they kept it up for the entire season.
At this point, it’s hard to comprehend how good Golden State is. They are on pace to shatter several NBA records that people thought would never be touched. Personally, I know I will never be able to understand how the Warriors are so good, so I might as well enjoy it while it lasts. It might be a long time.
Who knows how far the Warriors can take this amazing start of a season? Will they beat the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ NBA record season in which they went 72-10? Will they go undefeated? Only time will tell. But so far, it seems like shooting guard Leandro Barbosa may be correct when he said: “We gonna be championship.”